Just Baseball Highlight Reel: April 14, 2022

All you need to know about what took place across the league on Thursday is right here in the Just Baseball Highlight Reel.

Oakland Athletics 6, Tampa Bay Rays 3

The Oakland Athletics got the scoring going early and did not look back, plating three runs in the first inning before tacking on an additional run in each of the next three frames. By the bottom of the fifth, Oakland had a commanding 6-1 lead.

Cole Irvin gave the A’s a quality start, allowing three runs in a 6 1/3 innings pitched. Through six, Irvin had yielded just one run, but he started the seventh and gave up a double to Harold Ramirez and a two-run homer to Brandon Lowe before getting the hook.

The A’s bullpen kept the Rays off the board from there to close out their fourth victory of the young season, moving to 4-3.

Seattle Mariners 5, Chicago White Sox 1

The struggle had been real so far for 22-year-old Jarred Kelenic, as the former top prospect entered the day having gone just 1-for-15 on the season. Kelenic finally had a breakout game he can build on though, going 2-for-4 with one of those hits being his first home run of the season.

Thanks to good work by starting pitcher Logan Gilbert and the Mariners bullpen, Kelenic’s two-run homer held up and was enough for Seattle to take home the victory. Still, the Mariners added on three late insurance runs for good measure, as Cal Raleigh and Mitch Haniger both homered.

When it comes to the Mariners bullpen, one pitcher to keep an eye on is Andrés Muñoz, who touched a whooping 103 MPH today.

St. Louis Cardinals 1, Milwaukee Brewers 5

It was a rough day at the office for Adam Wainwright. The 40-year-old was knocked around for four runs off of eight hits and did not make it out of the fifth inning. Kolten Wong scored the Brewers first run of the day, leading things off with a triple.

Wong would score on a two-out single by Andrew McCutchen, marking the only run the Brewers scored in the first. Omar Narvaez hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second, putting the Brew Crew up 2-0. They then tacked on two more runs in the third, with Christian Yelich starting the rally with his third double of the season.

After getting roughed up for seven runs in his first start of the season, Brandon Woodruff got things back on track against St. Louis, pitching five scoreless innings. Tommy Edman homered in the eighth inning, accounting for all the offense the Cardinals could muster in this lopsided affair.

For a better encapsulation of how the Cardinals looked on offense, watch Albert Pujols try to make something happen on the basepaths at 42 years old.

Washington Nationals 4, Pittsburgh Pirates 9

The “great” pitching matchup of Joan Adon and JT Brubaker did not go as planned for either team in this game, with the two starters combining to give up 15 hits and 10 runs. Adon allowed six of those runs, yielding home runs to both Daniel Vogelbach and Bryan Reynolds.

In a game that did not have a lot of good pitching, Roansy Contreras really stood out for the Pirates. The rookie gave the Buccos three scoreless frames out of the pen and was rewarded with the win.

Philadelphia Phillies 3, Miami Marlins 4

The Philadelphia Phillies jumped on Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara early in this one, with Kyle Schwarber leading the game off with a double.

Bryce Harper later drove home Schwarber with a sac fly, giving the Phillies the early lead. Alcantara buckled down from there, escaping the first without any further damage.

After the first, Alcantara would string together five zeroes, holding the Phillies to just that one run through six innings. The Marlins gave their ace a lead to work with in the fourth inning, with Garret Cooper opening the scoring for the fish with a moonshot of a home run.

Jesus Sanchez followed up Cooper’s home run with a triple and Avisail Garcia later walked to put two runners on base for infielder Joey Wendle. Hitting with two outs, Wendle came through for Miami by delivering a clutch double down the third base line.

The Marlins would add to their lead in the fifth when Sanchez came through with an RBI single that put them ahead 4-1. However the game did get interesting in the top of the seventh inning, once Don Mattingly pulled his ace from the game.

After striking out the leadoff batter, Alcantara hit Matt Vierling with a pitch before exiting the game once the Phillies lineup turned over for the fourth time. Left-handed reliver Steve Okert came on to face Kyle Schwarber and he did his job by striking out the left-handed slugger.

Okert then walked JT Realmuto, putting two runners on base for reigning MVP Bryce Harper.

And guess what? He delivered.

Clinging to a one-run lead, the Marlins bullpen was able to hold on from there to secure a victory in their home opener.

While Philadelphia has now dropped three games in a row, at least their much-criticized defense is showing the ability to make some key plays.

Toronto Blue Jays 0, New York Yankees 3

No highlights from this one!

The Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees played a shockingly boring game, with no home runs and only three extra-base hits recorded altogether by both sides.

The story of this game was Luis Severino, who gave the Yankees five scoreless innings, punching out six Blue Jays while allowing just two hits. Catcher Jose Trevino carried the Yankees offense with two RBI singles.

Los Angeles Angels 5, Texas Rangers 10

The Los Angeles Angels jumped out to an early lead thanks to a solo home run by Mike Trout and RBI single by Brandon Marsh in the top of the first inning.

That lead would only last so long though, as it was not a good night for Shohei Ohtani. The reigning MVP was knocked around to the tune of six runs, with the biggest blow coming off the bat of Jonah Heim, who hit a grand slam in the bottom of the second inning.

Heim was not done though, as he drove another run in off of Ohtani in the bottom of the fourth inning. After Heim’s RBI single, Ohtani stayed on and got two outs before the Angels turned the game over to their bullpen.

Left-handed reliever Brian Moran was called on to try to get Corey Seager out, but that plan quickly backfired.

The Rangers were able to cruise to a victory from there, finishing the game with 10 runs scored for their second victory of the season.

Detroit Tigers 4, Kansas City Royal 2

Want to watch a man fly?

Check out Bobby Witt Jr. running the bases on this triple.

However even with all that speed standing on third base, Kanas City’s anemic offense failed to plate Witt, which ended up being a theme of the day for the Royals. Kansas City went just 2-for-9 hitting with runners in scoring position.

Starting pitchers Zack Greinke and Casey Mize pitched to a draw, as each team scored two runs apiece across their first five innings of work. It eventually became a game of bullpens and the Tigers ultimately were able to win out in that fight.

In the top of the seventh inning, a Spencer Torkleson walk sandwiched a pair of strikeouts that put Eric Haase up with a runner on and two outs.

Haase got a base hit to keep the line moving, which Victor Reyes and Austin Meadows both reciprocated, hitting singles of their own to plate two and give the Tigers the late lead and eventual victory.

HISTORICAL NOTE: Miggy got two steps closer to 3,000.

Atlanta Braves 1, San Diego Padres 12

World Series hangover?

The Atlanta Braves have not gotten off to the best of starts and Thursday’s game was certainly one they would like to flush from their memory as soon as possible.

Charlie Morton was knocked around, giving up nine hits and five earned runs in his five innings of work. To his defense though, the game could have looked a lot different had Eric Hosmer not pulled out his magic wang with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning, plating two runs with a hit that carried an exit velocity of 69.1 MPH.

After yielding three runs in that first inning, things only got worse for Morton when rookie CJ Abrams took him deep to the shortest part of the ballpark.

The Padres would go on to pile eight more runs after Abrams’ homer, scoring 12 on the day off of 16 hits. Joe Musgrove did not waste all of the run support, giving the Friars 6 2/3 innings of scoreless work before handing things off to the bullpen to finish off his first win of the season in the blowout.

Chicago Cubs 5, Colorado Rockies 2

The Chicago Cubs wasted no time adjusting to the friendly altitude of Coors Field, as they jumped out to an early lead against the Colorado Rockies. In an inning that saw the Cubs get five hits, new star Seiya Suzuki capped the scoring when he drove in their third run.

Left-handed starter Justin Steele gave Chicago four strong innings to start the game, keeping the Rockies off the board. Then in the fifth, Steele allowed a leadoff single, then got Connor Joe to line out. That would prove to be Steele’s final out recorded on the night, as he was pulled after walking Charlie Blackmon.

Ethan Robert came into the game to try to get Steele out of the jam, but he failed to do so. Robert allowed a two-run double to C.J. Cron. He recorded just one out and walked two batters before he too was pulled from the game.

Keegan Thompson came to the rescue for the Cubs, pitching 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief from there, handing things off to closer Mychal Givens, who picked up his first save of the season.

Cincinnati Reds 3, Los Angeles Dodgers 9

The Cincinnati Reds went out west to Los Angeles and played the mighty Dodgers to a draw!

At least for the first seven innings.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, with the game tied at three runs apiece, Freddie Freeman showed L.A. crowd what their newest star could do to spark a rally.

Trea Turner was the next man up and he collected the RBI by ripping a line drive the opposite way into right field. Two batters later, Will Smith delivered the death-nail.

With an assist from the glove of Jake Fraley, Smith’s home run gave the Dodgers a commanding 7-3 lead. They would go on to add two more runs for good measure, sending the Reds home in embarrassing fashion.

Good luck to that Reds ball club, who still has to play three more games against the Dodgers this weekend before they can finally escape Los Angeles.